Joan Fitz-Gerald

Jared Polis

A lengthy primary election campaign is closer to over for three U.S. House candidates than seems possible.

Democrats Joan Fitz-Gerald, Jared Polis and Will Shafroth are running for the party's nomination in Colorado's 2nd Congressional District.

The winner of the Aug. 12 primary will face Republican Scott Starin and the Unity Party of America's Bill Hammons in the Nov. 4 general election. The winner on Nov. 4 will replace current U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, in the House.

The Daily has asked the candidates to answer at least one issue-based question, once per week, for the remainder of the campaign. They thankfully agreed, so we're doing a series, and here's the first question.

The national debt is at about $9.4 trillion and counting. Is this a problem to you, and why? If it is, what should the federal government do to reduce the debt, and how could you help if voters send you to Congress?

JARED POLIS

(Via e-mail) We already feel the negative impact of our federal budget deficit and our growing national debt. The budget deficit was $187 billion in 2007, adding to a national debt that is over $9.39 trillion, or $124,400 for a family of four. The deceptive way that the government accounts for Social Security, and allows Social Security receipts to offset the budget deficit, actually means that the deficit accumulates roughly $150 billion more per year than officially reported.

The deficit has a negative impact on many aspects of our economy. Most importantly, it lowers the value of the dollar, leading to higher food and gas prices and directly affecting all of us who receive our income in dollars. Over the last few years, our dollar has lost over a third of its value compared to other currencies.

Additionally, interest payments on our debt are already 9.5 percent of all government expenditures. That means $240 billion less for health care, improving our schools, and investing in renewable energy. And if the deficit is not reduced, these interest payments will take up a larger and larger part of federal expenditures, mortgaging our future and increasing the inevitable future tax burden on all Americans.

The solution is that the government needs to have the same common sense that families and successful businesses have in balancing their checkbooks. Here is what I am calling for:

1) $530 billion of federal money would become available if we end the occupation of Iraq and return our men and women safely home. I co-authored the Responsible Plan to end the war in Iraq, which is posted on my Web site.

2) End the $9 billion annual subsidy to the oil and gas industry.

3) End the earmarking process by which pork barrel spending, such as the $223 million "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska, are added into spending bills for purely political reasons.

4) Roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, while retaining the tax cuts for the middle class.

5) Reduce military expenditures by 15 percent below the pre-Iraq war baseline over the next three years by eliminating out-dated, unneccessary Cold War weapons systems.

WILL SHAFROTH

(Via e-mail) We need to start worrying about our deficit now, and actually take steps to reduce both thedebt and the national deficit. The national debt is nearing $9.5 trillion, and the cost of maintaining our debt is one of the fastest-growingexpenses in the federal budget – the total interest on the debt in FY 2007 was nearly $430 billion, or more than six percent of the federal budget.

As the national debt continues to grow, we are burdening future generations with the costs of current spending levels and indebting our nation to foreign lenders. Not addressing the national debt is thus not only costly, but irresponsible as well.

In order to reduce our national debt, I strongly support pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget rules to reinstate fiscal discipline in Congress. PAYGO requires new spending or tax cuts to be offset by reduced spending or new revenue elsewhere.

We also need to end the war in Iraq, which has cost us over a half-trillion dollars so far – about $150 billion per year – and eliminate Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent of Americans, which could generate over $1.2 trillion in revenue over the next decade.

Yet the most effective way to avoid deficit spending –and driving the debt even higher – is by reinvigorating our economy. One key way to do that is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy.

Adopting a national renewable portfolio standard requiring 20 percent of electricity production to come from renewable sources by 2020 would generate $66.7 billion in capital investment, $25.6 billion in income to farmers and rural landowners, and $2 billion in local tax revenues. I support an even more aggressive approach that would result in renewable energy production of 20 percent by 2015 and 30 percent by 2020, generating even more investment and sooner.

With increased investment and fiscal restraint, we will insure that America's economic future is secure. In Congress, I will work hard to eliminate our yearly deficit and reduce our national debt. It is the right thing to do.

JOAN FITZ-GERALD

(Via telephone) The debt is a huge problem, and not only for this generation of Americans, because we'll be passing that debt along to future generations as well, which will limit the things that they can do.

Make no mistake about it, the war in Iraq is causing this deficit to increase phenomenally, which means there are things we can't do at home – things the American people badly need. When you look at infrastructure – whether it's levees, roads or bridges –keeping them safe and functional is one of the casualties of this war. Health care, childhood immunizations, public health and public safety are concerns for all of us.

And the underpinnings of the story of opportunity and hope, including whether there is money for federal grants for colleges, are at risk when you run these kinds of deficits.

I'm the candidate in this race that wants to cut funding immediately for the war in Iraq. This means stopping the bleeding, at least from the perspective of telling the generals to use the budget they already have to safely withdraw our troops. (Daily note: Congress has passed supplemental appropriations for the war.)

We also have a taxation system that is allowing more and more people not to even have to pay a minimum alternative tax. Our taxation system needs to change, and the effect the changes will have on our debt will depend on how many things you do. You could repeal the Bush tax cuts, you could make sure there is an estate tax for estates worth over $2 million, or you could close the loopholes on alternative minimum tax.

In my experience, having been the President of the (state) Senate, we balanced our budget in 120 days every year. I also had a budget in Jefferson County, and I always came in under budget as its County Clerk and Recorder.

As the Senate President, I had to make sure that we spent our money on the kind of programs that had the most effectiveness, and that we didn't overspend, which means in tough times you're making tough decisions.

What we've seen over the last eight years is a loss of buying power for middle-class America, and we've seen a loss of opportunity. If that was the goal of the Bush administration, we were certainly poorly served by it.